Self-contained ink applying or printing rollers are known in the art and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,738,269 and 3,928,521 are examples of such rollers. However, because of the highly competitive nature of the industry producing printing rollers there have been numerous efforts to produce an improved self-contained printing roller at minimum cost particularly for applications where it is desirable to have a somewhat rigid roller which has a soft printing surface to provide uniform inking.